#Marketline advantage

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Greetings!

At Chewy, Inc., we’re renowned for providing pet food, toys, healthcare products, and a wide range of pet-related items through our online retail platform and mobile app. While we take pride in offering the convenience and speed our customers expect, we are equally committed to delivering top-notch customer service. Ensuring the happiness of our customers and their pets is our number one priority.

Our customer base has grown consistently, and by the end of 2021 (Q4), we were excited to have 20.7 million active users on our platform. Our net sales have also seen substantial growth, reaching $8.9 billion in 2021—an impressive 24.41% increase from $7.1 billion in 2020 (Macrotrends, 2022). We are optimistic that the final figures for 2022 will surpass previous years’ results.

A significant contributor to our success has been our marketing efforts. In addition to online and TV ads, a large portion of our growth is fueled by word-of-mouth referrals from loyal customers. Our expansive product selection allows customers to easily find what they need without having to shop elsewhere. Additionally, the care and attention we show to both our customers and their pets are reflected in every interaction, which has helped build lasting trust. As we move into new ventures, we will continue to leverage these strengths.

As the newly appointed Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) of Chewy, Inc., I’m excited to share some thrilling news: we are expanding beyond our online retail space! Our first venture into the physical world will be the launch of pet grooming and lodging facilities. While we’ve enjoyed building relationships with our customers through phone and online interactions, we recognize the importance of in-person connections.

These new service-focused brick-and-mortar locations will allow us to deliver the same exceptional care we’re known for in an in-person setting. Our customers love pampering their pets, and our facilities will be designed to cater to those desires. Planned features include self-washing stations, professional grooming appointments, various grooming packages, a luxurious waiting area for pet owners, an indoor play park, upscale pet suites for lodging, daycare services, and an on-site pet chef creating gourmet treats and meals for our furry guests. As our facilities develop, we will continue to introduce more exciting features.

According to our CarePlus partner, Lemonade, 70% of U.S. households currently have pets (Team Lemonade, n.d.), making this new service valuable not just for our customers but for Chewy, Inc. as well. The pet grooming industry is experiencing 8% annual growth and is projected to maintain this pace through at least 2026 (Price, 2022). With the additional services we’re offering, we expect to surpass these growth projections. By diversifying into this new area, we believe these facilities will support and further propel Chewy, Inc.’s continued growth.

Best regards, Ashley De Los Santos Chief Innovation Officer Chewy, Inc.

Chewy, Inc. (n.d.) Investor Relations-Corporate Overview. Chewy, Inc. Retrieved October 29,

2022, from https://investor.chewy.com/overview/default.aspx

Macrotrends. (n.d.). Chewy revenue 2019-2022: Chwy. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from

%20annual%20revenue%20for%202022,a%2037.19%25%20increase%20from%202019

MarketLine. (2022). SWOT Analysis. PetSmart LLC. Retrieved from https://advantage-

marketline-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/Company/Profile/petsmart_inc?swot#S1

Price, L. (2022). How to start a dog grooming business. Small Business Trends. Retrieved

October 28, 2022, from https://smallbiztrends.com/2021/10/dog-grooming-business.html

Team Lemonade (n.d.). 2022 pet ownership statistics: 70 Fur Facts - Lemonade. Lemonade Pet.

Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://www.lemonade.com/pet/explained/pet-

ownership-statistics/

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Q3: Social media strategies:

Gymshark has used social media marketing strategies exclusively since it was first launched, and it has played an immense role in establishing the brand and contributed considerably to its success. Gymshark has used its influencer strategy to reach a large audience and their growth has been built around their ability to leverage the power of community through its online platforms. As part of their social media strategy Gymshark sponsored various Instagrammers, Youtubers and bloggers who they would use in meet-ups to engage their audience. By using influencers to promote their brand they can capitalise on the large followings of the influencers and create unique content to promote its products. This form of social media strategy is effective in the sense that 55% of global consumers and 63% of millennial consumers agree they are more likely to trust influencer reviews than brand claims (MarketLine 2018). In addition to this, 41% of people asked in GlobalData’s 2017 consumer survey stated that they regularly use social media sites or apps to discover new brands and products. By being well-established online it has allowed their brand to build a strong and consistent personality online. By taking advantage of consumer behaviour and the current demand to be accessible online has been the key to its success.

Another social media strategy that led Gymshark to great success was their partnership with fitness and lifestyle influencers on the app TikTok. This social media challenge was announced as “66 Days | Change Your Life” challenge which involved asking people to set themselves a goal and to upload a picture of themselves and after 66 days they would update their photo. This challenge was incentivised with offering a year’s supply of Gymshark apparel to the winner. The goal of this TikTok strategy was to create an active and meaningful connection with fans by inviting people to join the challenge. The campaign used 6 TikTok influencers to create high-quality videos that were 15 seconds in length. Gymsharks’ TikTok campaign targeted 19.8 million fans across the app and had 45.5 million views on their #gymshark66 hashtag. Social media has become a necessary marketing tool for Gymshark as two in five consumers use it for discovering new products/brands and sharing images and pictures with their friends (MarketLine 2018). Social media isn’t used to necessarily drive sales for Gymshark but rather to build brand awareness and create a relationship with their online following.

Gymshark, unlike its competitors rarely has any sales or deals, rather it focuses on having consistently affordable prices. Gymshark has 2 sales per year which are on its birthday and on Black Friday and in previous years they have capitalised on these sales as marketing opportunities. In 2018 Gymshark partnered with the Facebook Creative Group to create a Black Friday campaign. Their ‘Blackout’ campaign involved them turning the Gymshark imagery black to create a complete contrast to its usually bright and overexposed style. This campaign was carried out using the social media platform Facebook and Instragram using a combination of ad’s and stories. The campaign reached 6.4 million people and Gymshark saw a 9.3 times return on investment and was considered a leading brand for Facebook advertisements (Gilliland 2019). Facebook’s client solutions manager for retail and ecommerce stated that it was an excellent example of a game-changing brand executing a best-in-class advertising campaign (MarketingWeek 2018). 

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Firewalls and alternative facts

With everything that has been happening recently with Trump, it makes me wonder if the world is heading in the direction of censorship and severe government control as we see in this case study of China. Why else would sales of George Orwell’s 1984 spike as the world discusses Trump’s ‘alternative facts’?

So is China onto something? Or is this level of government control and filtering like something out of 1984?

By controlling the social media market in China and limiting users, all “300 million” of them (Chiu et al 2012), to just one main site (Weibo) China has enabled the market to make an incredibly large amount of money. Recently, Sina invested $160 million into Weibo (MarketLine 2012) and Alibaba acquired an 18% stake in the company (MarketLine 2013). 

However China has noticed a need for more sites than just Weibo and introduced QZone and WeChat among others.

(Picture source)

It is clear that China’s firewall is successfully banning many websites and controlling what its citizens are able to see and experience on the web. But is the firewall also harming China’s business dealings and interactions with other countries? Yup, it is.. 

In his article, Marc Davis (2015), details the many court cases and controversies surrounding China’s unwillingness to adhere to the rules of other countries that it does business with. However there does not seem to be any clear or immediate solution to this stalemate. 

So maybe China is onto something here? It’s easy to control both financially and in terms of keeping an eye on your citizens. I mean, censorship is okay right? So long as it doesn’t interfere with our freedoms? Just like this gif, censorship is good.*

But, the most important question is.. how do the Chinese deal with FOMO about not having access to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube?

*please note the use of sarcasm in this paragraph

References

Chiu, C, Ip, C & Silverman, A 2012, ‘Understanding social media in China’, McKinsey Quarterly, vol. 2, pp. 78-81

Davis, M 2015 ‘The Great Firewall of China’, ABA Journal, vol. 101, no. 11, pp. 17-18

MarketLine 2012, Sina to invest $160 million in Weibo, MarketLine Advantage

MarketLine 2013, Alibaba acquires 18% stake in Weibo, MarketLine Advantage

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How does it provide a strategic advantage in the marketplace?

How does it provide a strategic advantage in the marketplace?

Overview You are excited to see the possibilities after finishing the Business Model Canvas Template. The next step is the development of the BMC slide deck for review by the experienced former project manager mentioned in the Module Four assignment. Scenario In the BMC slide deck, you will make educated assumptions (based on research in Marketline, Yahoo Finance, or the company’s website) about…

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References

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Bearne, S 2018, ‘The 26-year-old with a £100m Sportswear Brand’, BBC News, October 1st, viewed 20th September 2019, https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45246999

British Fashion Council 2018, The Value of the UK Fashion Industry, Oxford Economics, London.

Cheng, S, Hong, Y 2009, ‘The Impact of Textile Industry on China's Environment’, International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education, Vol. 2, No. 9, pp. 33-44.

Ecommerce News 2018, 51% UK consumers prefer to shop online than in-store, Ecommerce News EU, viewed 23rdSeptember 2019, https://ecommercenews.eu/51-uk-consumers-prefer-to-shop-online-than-in-store/

Gilliland, N 2019, ‘What are fashion retailers doing to combat environmental costs?’, Ecoconsultancy, April 10, viewed 23rd September 2019, https://econsultancy.com/what-are-fashion-retailers-doing-to-combat-environmental-costs/

Gilliand, N 2019, Five marketing lessons from the success of Gymshark, Econonsultanty, February 27th, viewed 24thSeptember 2019, https://econsultancy.com/five-retail-lessons-sportswear-brand-gymshark/

King, R 2018, Activewear: Are you under the influence?, This Deakin, viewed 25th September 2019, https://this.deakin.edu.au/self-improvement/the-logic-behind-your-irrational-phobia

MarketLine 2018, Gymshark: Differentiated product and social media marketing catapults online activewear retailer to success, Marketline, ML00028-056.

MarketingWeek, 2018, ‘How Gymshark Mastered Instagram to Drive Instant Sales’, Tips Tools and Inspiration For Effective Campaigns, October, viewed 26th September 2019, https://www.marketingweek.com/gymshark-instagram-black-friday-sales/

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Porter, M.E. 1985, Competitive Advantage, The Free Press, New York.

Ravelo, J.L. 2018, ‘Mapping the Environmental Impacts of China's Textile Industry’, DevEx, January 18, viewed 20thSeptember 2019, https://www.devex.com/news/mapping-the-environmental-impacts-of-china-s-textile-industry-91905

Salpini, C 2018, ‘The state of sports retail: How athleisure keeps changing the game’, Retail Drive, March 14, viewed 23rd September 2019, https://www.retaildive.com/news/the-state-of-sports-retail-how-athleisure-keeps-changing-the-game/518126/

Schipani, S 2019, ‘The Impact of Textiles and Clothing Industry on the Environment’, Hello Homestead, January 15, viewed 20th September 2019, https://hellohomestead.com/the-impact-of-textiles-and-clothing-industry-on-the-environment/

Sleigh, S 2018, ‘The UK fashion industry is worth £32 billion to the UK economy, says British Fashion Council CEO’, Evening Standard, September 13, viewed 20th September 2018, https://www.standard.co.uk/fashion/uk-fashion-industry-32-billion-uk-economy-british-fashion-council-caroline-rush-a3934781.html

Sustain Your Style 2018, The Fashion Industry is the Second Largest Polluter in the World, Sustain Your Style, viewed 20th September 2019, https://www.sustainyourstyle.org/old-environmental-impacts

Qui, L.D. 2005, ‘China’s Textile and Clothing Industry’, PhD Thesis, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

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